Death of a salesman: Webpage-based manipulations of mortality salience

Most people are accustomed to ignoring the advertisements that they encounter while surfing the Internet, despite the profound effects such advertisements can have on behavior. We showed that webpage advertisements can remind people of their mortality (Study 1) and lead them to invest in culturally valued behavior (Studies 2-4). Specifically, individuals in the “mortality salience” condition reported greater worldview defense (Study 2) and spent more money on luxury items (Studies 3 and 4) than those in the control condition, consistent with proposals set forth by terror management theory. In Study 4, death-related thoughts mediated the relationship between mortality salience and willingness to spend money on luxury items. Findings are discussed in the context of online consumer behavior.